Combined toy gun and moving target



Sept. 22, 1959 J. ELLMAN COMBINED TOY GUN AND MOVIN G TARGET 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18, 1957 INVENTOR. JULIUS ELLMAN BY W A TTORNE K Sept. 22, 1959 J, ELLMAN 2,905,468

COMBINED TOY GUN AND MOVING TARGET Filed Nov. 18, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGJI.

FIGJO.

INVENTOR. JULIUS EL [.MAN.

wag/7M ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1959 .1. ELLMAN COMBINED TOY GUN AND MOVING TARGET 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 18, 1957 ill/[Ill INVENTOR. 7o JULIUS ELLMAN BY dm.%mm

Y/////// A I A 7' TORNE K to u 2,905,469 coivrBiNiiD TOY MoviNG TARGET Julius Ellman, Brooklyn, N.Y.,.assignor to said Ellman and George Lerner,- Fre'eport, N.Y. Application November =13, 1957, Serial No. 697,156 6 Claims. Cl. 273-161 This invention relates to amusement devices and, more particularly, to a toy target gun for children and adults alike. a While various types target toys have been provided, many of those available require the use of a projectile of one type or another which must be impelled toward the target. In some cases, these projectiles can cause injury to the person should they accidentally strike a contestant or bystander. Furthermore, these projectiles often become lost or damaged so as to materially reduce the useful life of the game or interfere with the continued operation thereof. Accordingly, it is anobject of the present invention to provide a target toy ,that 1s simple in construction, efiicient in operation, and which will overcome the aforementioned difiiculties. I

Another object of the present invention is to provide a target gun having moving targets that are entirely selfcontained upon the gun and which can be readily carried about and played both indoors and outdoors.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a target gun of the type described in which the score is entirely dependent upon the skill of the operator, means being provided to tally the score of each player.

Another object of the present invention is' to provide an amusement device that includes a target gun and selfcontained target that can be readily assembled for use and taken apart for storage and packaging purposes.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become, apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a target gun toy made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. la is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of certain parts of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the toy shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the toy shown iii Figs. 1 and 2 with the target mechanism removed.

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are enlarged fragmentary views of certain parts of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, illustrating successive positions of thetrig'ger and firing mechamsm.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the body of the gun,.showing one-half of the completed gum;

- Fig. 8"is a front elevational view of the device shown inFig. 7 N I I Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the opposite side of the gun. I

I Fig. lO'is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line Ill-1U of Fig 9. i

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 1111 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of the striker mechanism forming a part of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 12.

atent O 2,905, Pataatai s st. isss Fig. 14 is a front e'levational view of-the striker shown gp a Q. FigglS is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line15 15ofFig. 1-2. s I l U Fig. 16 is a side elevational view of a trigger forming a part of the present invention; r I,

Fig. 17 is a front elevational View inFig'. 16. Y A I Fig. 18 is a rear elevational view of the trigger shown inFi 21'6. L U Fig. 19 is a fragmentary side elevational view with parts, broken away, of certain parts of the toy shown in 1 Fig. 20 is a view similar to Fig. 19; illustrating succes sive'pjositions of the scoring device. 4

Fig. 21 is a view similar to Fig. 20, showing a subse= quent position of the target mechanism. Fig. 22 is; aview similar to Fig. 21 illustrating the final; at rest, position of the scoring member relative to the of the trigger shown remaining portions of the target structure; I

, Referring now to the drawing; and more particularly to Figs. and 2 thereof, a target toy 25 madein acco'rdanEe with the present invention is shown to include a gun 27 having a main body portion defining a longitudinal barrel 28 within which a forwardly and outwardly projecting barrel portion 29 is slidably supported for reciprocating longitudinal movement. v

With further reference now to Figs. 3 to 18- of the drawing, a triggermechan'ism for controllingthe opera tion of the toy is shown to include a finger piece 31 wliili is displaceably supported within the trigger uard 3U. The forwardly projecting barrel portion 29 iiiel'ndes mid section 32 of slightly reduced diameter and a rear; wardly disposed non-circular portion 33' which is s'lid ably; received within. a similarly shaped bore. 35 at; he main body portion for preventing rotation of the ber 29 about itslongitudiii al' aiii's." A com ression member 29 and is seated at its rearward end a main body portion with the forward end thereof ment with an integral boss 36 of the barrer e This spring- 37 normally urges the fo "aidly' pr barrel member 29 in an outward dire I fof pii hereinafter described. The trigger finger plate 31 h rearwardly and upwardly extending projection 4 adapted to abut against a" downwardly protru; as of the barrel member 29' during rearward niov merit of the trigger finger plate. However, as the' rearw facing" cam surface 41 on the trigger plate 31' ngag I with a fixed follower 43' or the main bo'aypbr tg projection 40'is moved out of blocking engagement" the lug 38 to'enable the partially compressed'sp I to thrust the ba rel member za forward1y A separate compression spring 45' aeting between the" maiii may 1 portionand the upper portions of the trigger finger plate opposite end received within" a seat 47 on theplatef$13 It willthusbe recognized that a squeezing pressure u thetrigger' plat'e 31 is in' itself operative to first springload and then" release the foryvardly proje ting ba ter member 29so' artafimtida as a re eating target pistol.

The forwardly projecting barrel portion 29, together with an upwardly extending member 50 provides a striker assembly for striking targets as they are moved into proximity therewith, in a manner hereinafter described. This striker member 50 may also be provided with a longitudinal bore 51 to simulate a gun sight. With reference again to Figs. 1, 1a, and 2 of the drawing, the target mechanism is shown to include a target wheel 55 that is removably carried upon the non-circular portion 54 at the upper end of a shaft 56 which is also removably mounted at its lower end upon a non-circular stub shaft 58. This stub shaft 58 extends through an enlarged bore 57 which extends transversely through the main body portion of the gun into association with a spring operated motor 60 carried beneath the barrel portionthercof. As is more clearly shown in Fig. 13 of the drawing, the stub shaft 58 extends through a longitudinally elongated slot 59 that extends transversely through the reduced central portion 32 of the forwardly projecting barrel member 29, so as to avoid interference with the reciprocating longitudinal movement of this member and to enable the spring motor 60 to rotate the shaft and target wheel 55 during operation of the trigger mechanism.

-An audible signal device, such as a metallic bell 64 is threadingly secured to an upwardly extending terminal stud 65 that is integral with the central portion of the target wheel 55. A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart recesses 70 are disposed along the periphery of the target wheel 55 for accommodating the upper ends of target arms 66 therewithin. The upper end of each of the arms 66 is also provided with a longitudinally elongated slot 69 which receives the upwardly projecting base of inverted U-shaped bails 68 that are carried by the target wheel 55 and which overlie each of the recesses 70. The opposite end of each arm 66 is provided with a target member 67 that is adapted to be struck by the striker element 50. It is to be noted that the particular mounting of each arm 66 upon the upwardly extending bail 68 enables the arm 66 to be rotated into striking engagement with the centrally located bell 64 and to slide radially outwardly throughout the length of the slot 69, out of contact with the bell 64, so as to prevent mufiling of the bell when the next target object strikes it. Furthermore, the arms 66 will strike the upper surface of the wheel 55 in substantially flat face engagement so as to prevent the arms from bouncing back to the initial position after striking the bell, whereby the scores of each player may be tallied at the end of each players turn. As is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bell or wheel may be provided with scoring indicia 71 so that a greater variety of scores is possible and enables the player to aim at certain higher valued targets.

In actual use, the motor 60 is manually wound by means of a key 73, while a manually operated stop lever 74 is provided to prevent unwinding of the motor until the device is ready to be played by the contestant. Each player may be allowed to fire a predetermined number of times or may be allowed to continue firing throughout the rotational movement of the target wheel 55. With all of the arms 66 initially in the free hanging position shown in Fig. 2, each player attempts to hit as many of the targets as possible with the striker element 50 while the Wheel is turning, all of the scores being registered by the striking of the bell 64 and by tallying the total score of the indicia 71 at the end of the players turn.

It will be noted that the target arms 56 are disposed above the uppermost level of the gun portion so that movement thereof is not interfered with, the striker element 50 being at substantially the same level as the target pieces 67 as they are rotated. Because of the aforementioned'striker actuating mechanism, the trigger plate 31 can be reciprocated as fast as desired in order to obtain the desired repeater action so as to enable the large quantity of attempts to be made to strike the targets during the period of rotation thereof. When not in use, or when packed for distribution andsale, the wheel 55 and shaft 56 may be dismounted from the gun to save space.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A target gun assembly comprising, in combination, a main body portion, a target carrier rotatably carried by said main body portion, a plurality of targets swingably supported on said target carrier, means for continuously rotating said target carrier a striker for hitting said targets carried by said main body portion in proximity with said targets, and manually actuated means independent of the target carrier rotating means, and carried by said main body portion for selectively moving said striker toward said targets.

2. A target gun assembly comprising, in combination, a main body portion, a target carrier rotatably supported upon said main body portion, a plurality of targets swingably supported on said target carrier, means for continuously rotating said target carrier a striker carried by said main body portion for selective movement along a fixed path toward said targets, and manually actuated means independent of the target carrier rotating means, and carried by said main body portion for selectively affecting movement of said striker along said fixed path.

3. A target gun assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means for rotating the target carrier includes a normally vertical shaft rotatably carried by said main body and connected to said carrier for rotating the same in a horizontal plane, said targets each supported on an arm and depending downwardly from said carrier into the path of movement of said striker, there being a lostraotion connection between said target arms and said target carrier. k g

4. A target g'un assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein said lost-motion connection includes a plurality of outwardly opening peripheral recesses in the target carrier, a bail overlying and bridging each of said recesses and having a bearing portion above the plane of said target carrier for pivotally supporting each one of said arms.

5. A target gun assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein said lost-motion connection further includes a longitudinally elongated and transversely extending slot at one end of each'of said arms for slidably receiving the bearing portion of its respective bail, and the opposite end of each of said arms includes an enlarged portion for striking engagement by said outwardly extending projection of said striker.

6. A target gun assembly as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a bell centrally mounted upon said target carrier, the length of said arms being substantially equal to the radius of said carrier, whereby said enlarged portion strikes said bell in response to rotational movement thereof upon impact of said striker and then moves away from said bail by reason of said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

